Girls in psychiatric care initiate sexual activity at an early age and engage in high rates of sexual risk-taking thereby increasing their exposure to HIV/AIDS. Family and partner processes influence girls' sexual socialization and sexual behavior, yet little is known about the role these factors play in predicting sexual debut and risky sexual behavior in troubled girls. The current project tests a model of HIV-risk that emphasizes the interplay of family and partner mechanisms and proposes that family processes increase troubled girls' HIV-risk directly and indirectly through girls' partner relationships.
Study aims are to identify mother-daughter relationship factors, mother-daughter communication patterns (general and risk-specific), maternal attitudes and behavior, and girls' partner relationship characteristics that predict: (a) troubled girls' sexual debut, (b) risky sexual behavior among girls in psychiatric care, and (3) sexual risk-taking in theoretically important subgroups of troubled girls, i.e., internalizing, externalizing, and substance using. We will recruit 280 13-15 year-old girls and their mothers seeking outpatient mental health services at inner-city clinics in Chicago, and we will follow them for 2 years. Girls and their mothers will complete questionnaires, participate in interviews, and engage in three structured videotaped interaction tasks to assess the key constructs in the model. Thus, we will use multiple methods to predict sexual debut and risky sexual behavior in girls seeking mental health services. We will use structural equation modeling to test the associations specified in the model and to identify causal factors associated with troubled girls at highest HIV-risk, and we will use classification tree analysis via Optimal Data Analysis to investigate the predictive power of these psychosocial variables. The long-term significance of this research is to guide the development of family- based gender sensitive prevention programs for mothers and daughters receiving psychiatric care. Mother-daughter dyads are especially well-suited to HIV prevention efforts, because mothers play a central role in girls' sexual socialization, girls rely on mothers more than fathers for advice, support, and information about sex-related topics, the mother-daughter relationship is a key predictor of adolescent girls' sexual experience, and a sizable number of urban households are led by single mothers. Interventions that are effective in a clinical setting may then be adapted for girls with mental health problems in school-based settings. This study is part of an overall program of research designed to develop effective HIV prevention programs for troubled teens and their families.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01MH065155-03S1
Application #
7222202
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Stoff, David M
Project Start
2002-09-27
Project End
2008-06-30
Budget Start
2004-07-01
Budget End
2006-06-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$15,016
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
098987217
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60612
Manczak, Erika M; Donenberg, Geri R; Emerson, Erin (2018) Can Mother-Daughter Communication Buffer Adolescent Risk for Mental Health Problems Associated With Maternal Depressive Symptoms? J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol :1-11
Donenberg, Geri; Emerson, Erin; Mackesy-Amiti, Mary Ellen et al. (2018) Sexual risk among African American girls seeking psychiatric care: A social-personal framework. J Consult Clin Psychol 86:24-38
Gershon, Anda; Hayward, Laura; Donenberg, Geri R et al. (2018) Victimization and traumatic stress: Pathways to depressive symptoms among low-income, African-American girls. Child Abuse Negl 86:223-234
Nichols, Sara; Javdani, Shabnam; Rodriguez, Erin et al. (2016) Sibling teenage pregnancy and clinic-referred girls' condom use: The protective role of maternal monitoring. J Child Fam Stud 25:1178-1187
Wilson, Helen W; Pettineo, Laura; Edmonds, Alexus et al. (2015) From violence exposure to development of sexual risk in low-income urban girls: the role of psychopathology. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 46:270-80
Javdani, Shabnam; Rodriguez, Erin M; Nichols, Sara R et al. (2014) Risking it for love: romantic relationships and early pubertal development confer risk for later disruptive behavior disorders in African-American girls receiving psychiatric care. J Abnorm Child Psychol 42:1325-40
Wilson, Helen W; Donenberg, Geri R; Emerson, Erin (2014) Childhood violence exposure and the development of sexual risk in low-income African American girls. J Behav Med 37:1091-101
Woods-Jaeger, Briana A; Jaeger, Jeffrey A; Donenberg, Geri R et al. (2013) The relationship between substance use and sexual health among African-American female adolescents with a history of seeking mental health services. Womens Health Issues 23:e365-71
Wilson, Helen W; Emerson, Erin; Donenberg, Geri R et al. (2013) History of sexual abuse and development of sexual risk behavior in low-income, urban African American girls seeking mental health treatment. Women Health 53:384-404
Wilson, Helen W; Woods, Briana A; Emerson, Erin et al. (2012) Patterns of Violence Exposure and Sexual Risk in Low-Income, Urban African American Girls. Psychol Violence 2:194-207

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